


care [so very deeply]

by rainbowshoes



Series: WinterIron Bingo 2019 [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Historical, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Omega Tony Stark, Past Rape/Non-con, Sex, Social Issues, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-23 21:57:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20237128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainbowshoes/pseuds/rainbowshoes
Summary: "I suppose he's interested, isn't he?" Tony said with a thoughtful, but sad, look for his mother as they sat to luncheon the following day.The sergeant?" Maria asked. Tony nodded. "Mí querido, if he'd been any more obvious, he could have proposed there at the dinner table." She smiled and chuckled softly. Tony gave her a grim smile. "Don't look so down. You need not disclose such a thing until after he has proposed. If he's indeed serious, then it will not be an issue. If he isn't, we can dissolve the agreement before we announce it."Tony often loved that his mother had the answer for everything. He didn't often love what her suggestions were, but he often appreciated those answers all the same. She was, always, honest with him. Even if she didn't always want to be.for the WinterIron Bingo 2019square G5: Historical





	1. Chapter 1

Howard came into the bedroom where Tony was lying with his head in his mother's lap, his eyes still red and swollen from crying, his dressing gown rumpled. He eyed the tableau before him for a long moment before Maria's hand in Tony's hair stilled, and Tony sniffed hard before looking first up at her, and then over at the door.

"I hope you're proud of yourself," Howard said bitterly, his voice not quite echoing in the room, but certainly louder than any other sound. Tony flinched. 

"Howard," Maria said sharply, reproachfully. 

"If the boy had any shred of the sense God gave a _rat,_" Howard began, a nasty sneer under his mustache, "maybe we wouldn't be in this situation."

"I hardly think any of this was his own fault," Maria said, not quite as sharp, but stinging just as much. 

Tony shoved himself partially upright, cringing as he moved. "You aren't - you aren't even going to ask who did this to me?" Tony asked, his voice hitching and breaking. He sounded so very young, not at all like the man Howard had raised him to be. 

Howard rolled his eyes. "I suppose I ought to, so I can know who to give half Tony's damned dowry to for spoiling him."

"Howard!" Maria cried, aghast at his language. 

"It was Obadiah!" Tony shouted. He threw a pillow at Howard that bounced ineffectually off his chest. It did little against the shock of those words. "He found me in the stables after my ride and pinned me in a stall and held me down!" Always the one for a flair for the dramatic, Tony yanked down the neck of his dressing gown and revealed a long, deep red bruise across the top of his chest. "He used my _ crop _-" His voice broke over the word, and he couldn't seem to get the other words to come out of his mouth. 

Howard said nothing for a long moment. "Very well." He nodded once. "I'll… see to this." He turned to leave, but not before he heard Tony again.

"Mamá, what does he mean?" His voice was shattered with tears. "What does he -"

"Shh, mí querido," Maria said gently. Howard could picture her guiding Tony down to her lap once more. "I'm certain he will do what's best in this situation." It was a hollow promise, and they all knew it. 

Howard wasn't even sure what was best, at this moment.


	2. Chapter 2

"Surely the boy will need to wed someone quickly," Stane - not Obadiah, not now, not after what the man had done to his son - said as he accepted the glass of brandy. He gave Howard an amused smile. "Can't have people talking, now, can we?" Always  _ we  _ with that one. Never  _ the family _ . He'd been inserting himself into their lives for years, and Howard had never questioned it. 

Howard had gone to the stables to ask the stable hands what they'd seen. One boy, a shy thing barely big enough to haul the tack away for cleaning, had admitted he'd seen Stane and Tony in the stall, and he'd gone to tell his father. His father had been the one who found Tony, bleeding and unconscious, and had carried him back to the house. Howard had already given the man twenty pounds to buy not only his silence but to thank him as well.  _ After _ he'd learned the truth. 

Stane's idiocy rankled, though. Surely the man knew basic biology. Certainly, Howard had never had much interest in that sort of thing, but Oxford had taught him plenty. Clearly, the University of London had done Stane no such favors. Male omegas couldn't  _ get pregnant  _ when they weren't in heat. It seemed, to Howard, like any idiot would know that. Hell, most of his household knew as much. Why else would he have locked away his son for a week every three months like clockwork with only maids and no valet to attend him if not for that very reason? Sending Tony away to Oxford had been a trial on his pocketbook and Maria's patience. They'd had to buy a new house and get Tony set up with a small staff just to deal with everything. His valet, at least, was a beta, and a good, strong, reliable man. Jarvis was grooming him to become an under butler. Less to worry about, with him, but the worry never quite went away.

"Perhaps," Howard allowed, tipping his glass in Stane's direction. He couldn't get the man charged with rape, not without causing a great bloody scandal. He did, after all, want Tony married sometime before he was out of season and then considered past his prime. "Any ideas on that front?" He wondered…

"A few," Stane said with a shrug. He stroked his beard, a huge thing that, while well-kept, Howard did not approve of. "That Rogers fellow, in the King's army. He seems a decent sort. Not certain he'd want… spoiled goods." Stane shrugged again. "There's the old widower Fury, as well."

"I'll not marry Tony off to some old man with a withering estate," Howard said, perhaps too sharply. He knew the state of Fury's affairs perfectly well. The man wasn't nearly as destitute as he'd have people believed. He'd taken a step away from the public eye, though, and that had been chalked up to  _ money problems _ . Not that it was true. 

Stane laughed. "Fair enough. Well, I'm sure you'll sort it out, won't you?" He flashed Howard an easy smile. "If you don't… I'm not so put off by the concept of his being sullied that I won't have him."

It was sly, the way he worded that. Howard gave Stane a sharp nod, but he didn't otherwise comment. No use in letting Stane get too comfortable with the idea. "I'll have Jarvis get the Barton boy to bring 'round the motor, shall I?" Howard stood and was already across the room at the bell-pull before Stane could argue. "I'll put in a word with Rogers. He made Captain, last I heard. Perhaps I'll invite him to dinner."

Stane hid his grimace easily and offered a flash of a smile. "I'll be down in London for a week or two," he said. "Got those contracts to iron out about laying the new rails."

"See they don't skim off the top again," Howard said, a subtle nod to how he'd been going over the books with his accountant and had noticed the obvious discrepancies he'd found. 

He was very careful to keep the family money and the company money separate, and it was a good thing he did. The estate alone was worth a few million pounds in revenue alone each year, but combined with the business, Howard made upwards of a hundred million a year. It kept his family happy and wealthy and more than comfortable. He didn't want Stane to have any inkling of exactly how much he was worth. He was nouveau riche, after all. Maria was the old money, even if she was Spanish and, therefore, foreign. It was  _ her  _ name getting them places around England, not so much his, and they all knew it. People dealt with him because they had to, but they invited Maria - and Tony, by extension - because they wanted to. 

Stane chuckled. "I'll see to it myself."

"See that you do," Howard said as Stane left the sitting room. He refused to have the man and his terrible cigars in his library. 


	3. Chapter 3

The day Howard had originally planned to write to Captain Rogers and invite him to dinner, he'd sat down to breakfast and opened the paper only to find an engagement announcement for the self-same man. He'd sighed, slightly aggrieved, but wrote his letter anyway. He'd congratulated the Captain on his engagement, of course. Thing was, engagements weren't solid. He knew damn well they could be broken. Not that he was  _ hoping  _ for that sort of thing, only that he was, a little. He was hoping that perhaps the Captain had allowed himself to be backed into an agreement he didn't know how to see himself out of, and if that was the case, Howard could help with that. Military men weren't wealthy, but Rogers had made a good name for himself, and with Howard's money, he damn well  _ could _ be wealthy. Still, he inquired after someone Rogers may know who would suit Tony's fancy.

Rogers and Tony had met a few times. They'd spun around a ball or two, organized by Maria and all but thrown at one another by several society matrons, but nothing had stuck between them. They were cordial, at least, and that was the best Howard could really hope for, in this situation. He'd have to tell Rogers the truth of things, at least, if he was using the man to help him find a suitable husband for his willful omega son.

When the reply eventually came, Howard told Maria to see to organizing a small dinner party for them. It would be the family and Rogers and a friend of his - one James Barnes. Howard had a feeling he'd heard the name before, but he couldn't precisely recall where, so he filed it away as unimportant for the time being. 

Tony was still refusing to speak to him - not an usual occurrence, that - but he was losing an unhealthy amount of weight, and he positively refused to go riding any longer, even when Maria asked that he join her. Maria didn't even enjoy riding. Driven beyond desperation, Maria had finally bundled Tony off to Manchester to shop for the upcoming season just before Stane arrived back from London. They were gone until just the day before the dinner party, and Howard managed to convince Stane his presence was needed in Leeds the day of, so that was one invitation he wasn't forced to extend. 

Tony came down to dinner in white tie, as expected, but he was sullen and distant until Rogers and Barnes arrived. He plastered on a broadly fake smile for Rogers and greeted him warmly enough, and he even had the courtesy to extend the greeting to Barnes. Maria tittered over the pair of them, as well. Howard asked Maria and Tony to show Barnes the house while he caught up with Rogers for a moment.

He poured himself a small measure of scotch as he led Rogers into his office. He could hear the distant murmur of voices and the soft sound of Maria's shoes over the carpets. He offered a glass to Rogers and sat it nearby even when he refused it.

"Thank you for the invitation, Stark," Rogers began politely. 

Howard waved that away. "You know my reasons for inviting you." Rogers acknowledged that with a dip of his head. "There's no chance I can ask you to bow out of your engagement, is there?"

Rogers didn't seem offended, at least. He smiled, softly. "Not for all the money in the world."

"Well, it was worth asking," Howard said with a shrug. Even if that did put a damper on his plans, it seemed Rogers had at least brought some form of a backup plan. 

"Tony's never seemed to have a problem finding suitors before," Rogers said slowly. "His dance cards have always been full to bursting when I've seen him. Has something happened?"

Howard took a fortifying sip of his scotch. "It has."

Rogers was silent for a beat. "Is he pregnant?" He didn't sound angry or like it would be one of the worst scandals to hit the papers in decades, like Howard knew it would have caused. Tony would have been blacklisted from every party or dinner for the next twenty years.

"No, thank God," Howard muttered darkly. He contemplated the bottom of his glass and quickly knocked back the remainder, then grabbed the decanter to pour himself another swallow or two. Or, perhaps three. 

"Slow down, Howard," Rogers said, his voice full of concern. "You'll go into dinner drunk."

"Wouldn't be the first time in the last few months," Howard snapped. He took a breath. "Stane raped Tony." There. Over and done with. Better to be quick about it than to beat around the bush.

Rogers face went blank and pale, then flashed with high spots of red with his anger, kept shut in behind tightly closed lips. He grabbed the glass from the table in front of him and tossed it all back. Howard watched his throat work as he swallowed it down. He took a deep, ragged breath. "Where is Stane now?" Howard was grateful the man was quiet, at least. He could still hear voices nearby. They'd have heard any yelling loud and clear.

"I've sent him away to Leeds," Howard said dismissively. 

"You didn't have him arrested?" Rogers asked sharply. Funny how Rogers' sharp demands always managed to get under his skin more effectively than Maria's. 

"And ruin Tony's reputation?" Howard scoffed. "I'm a right arse, Rogers, but even I'm not that daft. He'd be cut from every invite from now until he was forty." He gave Rogers a dirty look. "If you value him in any capacity, you won't breathe a word of what I've just told you."

"Of course not," Rogers snapped. He rubbed his hands over his face, and Howard took pity, refilling his glass for him. Rogers took a slower sip this time. "I knew something seemed off…"

"He won't so much as speak to me," Howard muttered. "I can't very well fire the man outright, though. I know he's stealing from me, but I've yet to prove it. I've put in some inquiries. There's a man, a Philip Coulson, who will investigate Stane for me. He'll find all the proof we need to have him formally arrested and tried. Until then, I can do nothing. If I fire him, even without a reference, he will find another job with another company and sell all our secrets just as quickly as he can. I trusted the man once, Rogers, I won't make the same mistake twice."

They were silent for a moment. Then Rogers sighed and sat back, relaxing a bit and taking the edge off his rigid posture. "I think Bucky would be a good fit, still. That's half the reason I invited him, you know. I was planning to throw him at Tony and run for the hills." Rogers offered him a ghost of a smile. "Bucky's family is old money. Not nearly so well off as you, but they've a nice estate near Norwich. His pa's an earl."

"Go on," Howard said, tipping his glass in Roger's direction. 

Rogers shrugged. "Bucky got hurt something awful in South Africa. A bullet in his shoulder. He was in convalescence for months, learning how to use his arm again. Finally got himself back in uniform, but I don't want him to go back out in it, if the need should arise. We've had peace, and I thank God for it, but even the drills are hard for him, these days. He can still shoot, still fight, but… I've been thinking he shouldn't have to. Maybe finding himself an omega will make him reconsider."

"What about your woman, Carter?"

"Peggy's father is Major-General Carter," Rogers said with a somewhat wild grin. "She'd flay me alive if I thought of leaving service to be with her."

"Good, then," Howard said with a distracted nod. He looked at Rogers again after only a moment. "And Barnes. How will he feel about… Tony not being pure." There, he thought. That was a diplomatic way to address the issue.

"I don't suppose Bucky will much care," Steve said with a shrug. "He never has before, not as such. Gave some of the men hell for bad-mouthing a girl who'd been in a similar situation. One of the private's cousins or something. He had quite a lot to say about it. He has younger sisters, and a twin sister. All omegas. They run in his family." Rogers shrugged, like that didn't leave a bitter taste in Howard's mouth. Still. It was likely the best offer he would get for a spoiled Tony. And Barnes was son to a earl… It didn't much matter that Maria was the daughter of a duke. Tony was an omega, and omegas couldn't inherit titles, not even male omegas. If Tony had a beta or alpha son, that'd make the boy an earl in England and the second - or possibly third, Howard wasn't entirely sure about the lineage - heir to a dukedom in Spain, as well. That was a rather large amount of ifs, though. 

"Run the idea by Barnes, see if he's interested," Howard instructed. "If he is, make sure to mention that Tony's been spoiled." Howard didn't care that Rogers clearly didn't like the term. It was still true. "If he isn't, best keep it to yourself. Tony's dowry is impressive, I'll say that much and no more."

"I'll let him know the option is on the table," Rogers said. He placed his empty glass on the table and stood with Howard. "But I suspect he already knows. He's a terrible flirt, though. Might want to keep them apart at dinner."

"Is he going to fuck my son at the dinner table?" Howard asked with raised eyebrows. Rogers gaped at him, likely for his language. "No? Then let the man flirt. Let him show his interest all he likes, if he will. Perhaps Tony won't balk at the idea of marrying him."

Rogers gave him a tight nod, and they were just turning to leave the office as Jarvis knocked to inform them it was time to go through for dinner. 


	4. Chapter 4

"I suppose he's interested, isn't he?" Tony said with a thoughtful, but sad, look for his mother as they sat to luncheon the following day. 

"The sergeant?" Maria asked. Tony nodded. "Mí querido, if he'd been any more obvious, he could have proposed there at the dinner table." She smiled and chuckled softly. Tony gave her a grim smile. "Don't look so down. You need not disclose such a thing until after he has proposed. If he's indeed serious, then it will not be an issue. If he isn't, we can dissolve the agreement before we announce it."

Tony often loved that his mother had the answer for everything. He didn't often love what her suggestions  _ were _ , but he often appreciated those answers all the same. She was, always, honest with him. Even if she didn't always want to be. 

"Isn't that unfair?" Tony asked quietly.

"Who said anything about being fair?" Maria asked with a raised eyebrow. "Fairness is not part of this equation. I would like for your happiness to be a part of it, but that often isn't, either. What matters is finding someone to settle you with so that you can at least be healthy and well taken care of. Anything else is just a bonus. You've known this for quite some time." She said it just a bit sadly, as if she regretted it. She'd always been honest, though, and she was being honest now. His parents likely wouldn't settle him with someone he hated, but that didn't mean he had to actively  _ like  _ his potential husband. It would be forced, and while he wouldn't surrender to the indignity of being carted down the aisle kicking and screaming, he knew it wouldn't be a loud affair - likely, now, it wouldn't be either way. He'd have a small, country wedding, and that'd be the end of things. 

"I don't see why I can't be a bachelor forever," Tony grumbled, though it was half-hearted at best.

"Your father is doing what he can to find you a suitable match," Maria said simply, as if that was the end of it. 

"He won't even look at me!" Tony snapped, slamming his fork to the table. "I've - have I, truly, disgusted him so much?" 

Maria frowned. "No, don't be so silly."

"Of course not," Tony said, scathing and brittle. "He would have to give a damn in the first place." Tony tossed his napkin to the table and stood.

"Antonio!" Maria called sharply. 

"Please excuse me, Mamá, I'm not feeling well," he murmured, then left without waiting for her response. He stalked away from the table and out of the dining room, ignoring Jarvis' look of sadness and subtle disappointment. He couldn't handle it.

The thing was, he'd liked Bucky. He genuinely had. He'd never met him before at any of the social functions he'd attended. He couldn't help but wonder why. Apparently, he was the son of an earl. Someone with that kind of title should have had enough of a name to get invited to all the parties he went to. He supposed it didn't much matter, in the end. He was glad to have met him, anyway, even if they'd never do more than flirt a little. Tony had felt more like  _ himself _ during Steve's and Bucky's visit than he had in the months since… since… that. The unspoken thing. He couldn't say it himself. He didn't much want to. Howard was enough of a bastard that he'd probably force Tony to tell Bucky himself, when it came time for it. 

But, Bucky was sweet and charming. He had a rake hell grin and wicked intelligence. He wasn't, perhaps, as smart as Tony was, but then, Tony hadn't met many who were on his level. There was Bruce, back at Oxford, but he'd stayed on to do more research and become a professor himself rather than return to his own terrible home. Tony couldn't blame him. If he'd had the option, he'd have stayed, as well. He wrote to Bruce often enough, but he was itching to take a jaunt back to Oxford to see his friend. It wasn't likely to happen, not after - after Stane. Tony could dream, though. 

Tony went for a long walk in the gardens rather than head for the stables and his horse. She was a beautiful gray mare named Lady Fingers, after the cookies Ana, the cook and Jarvis' wife, made for him so often as a child. He missed riding so much it ached, but he couldn't bear to go near the stables, and the one time he'd had her brought 'round to him, he hadn't been able to mount her. Maybe one day, but not yet. The gardens did well enough in the interim. 

He knew he was ruined now. He was surprised Howard had kept it quiet, honestly, or that he hadn't just married Tony off to Stane at the earliest convenience. That was what Tony had expected, and a part of him  _ still  _ expected it, to be honest. He thought maybe all this nonsense going on now was just a diversion to make him, or his mother, feel better. He knew his parents often slept together rather than apart, but ever since Stane, Maria had banished Howard to the bed in his dressing room and refused to allow him entrance to her own. He felt marginally better that she was so much on his side, but he knew it wouldn't count for much in the end. 

Howard would get whatever he wanted in the end, because that was what Howard  _ did _ . Tony's happiness didn't matter. He'd thought he'd learned to accept that, but perhaps he hadn't. No surprise, really. 

Tony made himself a promise as he caressed a rose bud just barely beginning to bloom. If he was forced to marry Stane, he would cut his own throat. He would  _ never  _ allow that man to touch him again. 


	5. Chapter 5

"Fancy seeing you here, Sergeant." Bucky turned, then smiled when he saw Tony approaching. "How are you, this evening?"

"Well enough," he said with a smile of his own. "And yourself? Looking after Mrs. Stark?"

Tony laughed. "She looks after herself just fine." Bucky gave him a tiny smile, something a little more private. "I hadn't thought to see you again so soon."

"Steve invited me along again," Bucky said. He took a step closer. "And… I admit, I wanted to see you."

Tony flushed a pretty pink color that went well with his tan complexion. "You're flattering me," Tony accused mildly. He had a tiny smile of his own, though. "Whatever shall I do with you?"

"I'd be happy enough with a dance?" Bucky asked hopefully, a crooked smile on his face. 

"Well, the next dance isn't for weeks yet," Tony said, "but I'll save a place on my dance card for you, shall I?" 

"Only one?" Bucky teased. 

"For now," Tony teased right back, a laugh in his voice. Bucky felt lighter than air at the sound. Bucky offered his arm, and Tony accepted, albeit with a tiny measure of hesitancy - almost too little to notice. Bucky escorted Tony down the hall toward the library where everyone else was waiting. 

"My sister, Edith, is having a dance, too. It's quite a hike from here. Out by Norwich. But you'd have an invitation, if you'd like one." Bucky tried not to make it seem like he was being too eager, but the truth was, he was very eager indeed. Steve hadn't said much about the whole thing other than asking if Tony was really someone Bucky wanted to pursue. Bucky thought Steve was an idiot if it wasn't perfectly obvious that was true. Maybe he needed to be  _ more  _ obvious. He could do that. 

"That  _ is  _ a hike," Tony said mildly. "Still, one of my very dear friends from Oxford just took up a professorship at Cambridge, and I should like to see him again. No reason not to take the train out for a visit and then head out to Norwich when I'm finished there, hm?" 

Bucky grinned. "Invite your friend, as well, then. I should like to meet all your friends." It wasn't subtle, not in the least, but then again, he wasn't trying for subtle. Tony broke away from him as they entered the library, and Bucky let him go with some reluctance. He watched as Tony kissed his mother's cheek. 

"Mamá, Bucky has invited me to a dance for his sister," he said, standing, and turning to look at Bucky. Bucky moved closer and took Mrs. Stark's hand to press a quick kiss to the back of it. 

"It's her first, for her first year in the season," Bucky explained. "I'm certain my parents would be thrilled to see you there." 

Mrs. Stark smiled, and she seemed genuinely delighted. "How lovely. A girl's first season is always a big to-do. When is the dance?" 

"The beginning of July," Bucky said. "A bit late, but Norwich is a bit far for everyone to travel, and my mother wanted to be sure everyone could make it. She'll go to a few others, for friends and cousins, but this one will be hers."

"Of course," Mrs. Stark said with a nod, like that made perfect sense. It hadn't to Bucky, not when everyone was making a deal out of Becca's first season, but he understood it a fair bit better, these days. He wouldn't fool himself into thinking he knew all there was to know, though. "We shall do all we can, Sergeant, and I thank you for the invitation."

"He's invited Bruce, as well," Tony said, a happy smile on his face as he rocked forward on his toes. 

"How kind of him," Mrs. Stark said with a gentle smile. "I'm sure we'll need to do a fair bit of shopping while we're in Cambridge, anyhow, hm?" 

"Thank you, Mamá," Tony said, darting in to peck her cheek again. Bucky gave her a wide smile and she waved them off so she could continue her conversation with a dowager who, Steve had told him, was their neighbor. 

Bucky followed Tony over to the shelves of books lining one entire wall. It wasn't far enough for any sort of privacy or private conversation, but it alluded to the potential for one anyway. "Ma is always sure to take my sisters out to London to shop for their season," Bucky mentioned. "I'm not certain Cambridge will have much in the way of whatever you're looking for."

Tony waved that away. "It'll have enough for Bruce. He isn't well-off. His father shipped him off to Oxford nearly as soon as he could get rid of him, and Bruce refuses to go back. He never had a season of any sort. He's all right with that, but I try to drag him along to any parties I can. He might not want to go, but as I keep telling him, he'll need the connections one day." Tony shrugged idly, like it didn't much matter. Bucky was fairly sure he'd just fallen even harder for the doe-eyed brunette. 

"You are an incredibly kind person," Bucky said, not bothering to mask the awe in his voice. When it looked like Tony was going to try to argue with him, Bucky pressed his hand to Tony's and squeezed gently. "You  _ are _ , Tony. And that's - that's wonderful. It makes me very glad to know you."

Tony flushed and refused to meet Bucky's eye, clearly embarrassed by the praise. He gently took his hand back, and Bucky let him have it. "I'm sure you think the world of many omegas."

"Not as such," Bucky said with a laugh. "I have four sisters, all omegas. I know exactly how bratty they can be. I've seen them at their very worst. I'm still not certain there's any hope for little Liza, but she's only ten, so there's time, yet. My twin is an omega, as well. I've grown up beside her. She's twice as vicious and three times as brutal as I am when it comes to anyone threatening our baby sisters, you know. She only just married last summer, to a Scottish lord up in Glasgow. She hasn't had any of her own yet, but I figure they'll be right hellions themselves, too." He laughed, light and cheerful in a way he so often wasn't lately. Something about Tony made him feel so full of air and sunshine. He knew it couldn't possibly last forever, that Tony would see his bad days, too, but he could hope those wouldn't come just yet. He wanted this one thing to go right.

Tony had a small, but genuine, smile on his face. "I admit, that sounds very nice."

"What, being married off to a Scottish lord?" Bucky teased. 

Tony rolled his eyes expressively. "Daft," Tony accused mildly. "Having so much family to look after one another, to… care. So very deeply."

That made something hot and unpleasant drop into Bucky's stomach like a stone. He wanted to wrap his arms around Tony and never let him go, to protect this brilliant omega from all the terrible things in life. He knew he couldn't, but he wanted to. 

Bucky tossed common sense out the window. "We could make you a part of that, if you like," he said softly. 

Tony's eyes widened and shot up to meet his. They were like deep, dark pools, and Bucky was fully prepared to dive straight in and let himself drown. 

"Are - Sergeant Barnes, is that a proposal?" Tony seemed a bit  _ too  _ shocked.

Bucky reeled back a little. "Not a formal one," he said, with probably the most sense he'd had all evening. "Perhaps, after the season is through, and you were agreeable, I could offer you a proper one? I should like to."

"I should like that," Tony said, a tiny smile curving at the corners of his lips. "I should… I should like that quite a lot."

"D' you mind if I tell Steve, then? If that's to be the plan? It's only - he's my best friend." Bucky was suddenly caught up in a fit of nerves he rarely experienced. 

"Only so long as I'm allowed to tell Bruce," Tony said with a quiet laugh. Bucky beamed at Tony, feeling radiant, like the sun was shining from under his skin. 


	6. Chapter 6

Tony hadn't told Bruce what had happened. He hadn't been able to put the words on paper. Even if he'd wanted to, he wasn't sure he trusted them to remain private and confidential if he did. So, after the first two dances of the season - the first of which Bucky had attended and had claimed no less than  _ five  _ dances from Tony, including his very last, which had everyone whispering, and the second of which Bucky had not attended due to a prior obligation to his sisters - Tony and Maria made their way to Cambridge. Maria had put in at the nicest hotel in the area, and Tony was obliged to join her there despite wanting to stay with Bruce instead. Bruce met him for a late luncheon at a small café near the university, and they caught up in person for the first time in a little over a year. 

"You're in all the society papers, you know," Bruce said with a small, amused smile. 

Tony laughed. "When am I not?" He fiddled with his fork, knowing exactly what Bruce meant. "Besides, I thought you didn't read the society papers?" 

"Betty does," Bruce said, pinking a bit. Tony grinned wildly. "It isn't like that, Tony. Her father is Brigadier General. She lives in their house here while he's away, and she takes whichever classes they'll allow her to take. She's… really quite intelligent." That was high praise, coming from Bruce. 

"Well, it could be like that," Tony said with and idle shrug. "You never know."

"Tony," Bruce sighed. "I'm only a professor, not a lord or anything like - like she's expected to marry. Not someone like you."

"Your family has plenty of money," Tony said, waving that away. "And anyhow, you're fit to inherit once your father passes. With his drinking pickling him, I can't say you should expect him to live terribly long." Bruce nodded slowly, as if he'd already thought about it. "May as well give it a go, Bruce. You never know until you try."

Bruce shook his head. "Betty won't be for me," he said, a bit sadly. He forced a smile. "Anyhow, that wasn't what I wanted to discuss. The rumors say you're in an informal engagement with one Sergeant Barnes?" Bruce phrased it like a question, but Tony could tell Bruce knew exactly what he was talking about. 

"I am," Tony said with a small, secret smile. "But we can talk about that in this laboratory you've promised to show me." 

"Of course," Bruce said with an indulgent smile. He likely knew Tony didn't want to be overheard, but he was pretending it was for other reasons, and Tony loved him for it. Tony paid for their meal and waved away Bruce's protests easily, then they walked slowly back to the university, discussing lighter, safer topics. 

Once the door to the massive space was closed behind them, Tony busied himself with inspecting the equipment. Bruce was good with chemistry and biology, but Tony preferred to build things. He'd built a new model of a rifle while at Oxford with Bruce and sent it back home to his father to prove he wasn't wasting his time or Howard's money. They'd gone into production nearly immediately. Guns, Tony found, were easy. Train engines were a fair bit more complex, and he had more fun with those, anyhow. He had been attempting to find a way around burning so much coal all the time, but he hadn't had enough time while at Oxford to dedicate to the task. 

"The Sergeant?" Bruce prompted. 

"We are informally engaged," Tony said. "He said he'd make it nice and proper once the season was over. His sister has her first year at it, this season, and he wanted to be there for her, as much as he could. He's invited us to the first ball out in Norwich on Saturday."

"You'll have to be sure to write to me about it," Bruce said. Tony wasn't looking at him, but he could picture the small smile on Bruce's face. Bruce wouldn't be jealous, but Tony rather suspected Bruce felt a little like he'd lost his chance for such things long ago. He was five years older than Tony, after all, at twenty-four. He was almost absurdly young to have become a professor, but there wasn't much else for him to do. 

"Oh, I meant us as in the pair of us, Brucie," Tony said, turning to Bruce with a smile. Bruce gaped at him. "Mamá is taking us shopping tomorrow, though she's already found something for you when we stopped through at London. It only needs tailoring."

"Tony, I - I  _ can't _ ," Bruce tried to protest. 

"Nonsense," Tony said, waving him away. "You can and you shall. Bucky's said he'd like to meet you. Don't go disappointing my potential husband already. You'll have to come to the wedding, after all, if such a thing happens, and I should hate to wait until then to properly introduce you."

Bruce was quiet for a moment. "Potential? If?" 

He'd caught on fast. Tony knew he would. He carefully set the beaker in his hand on the black-topped table and curled his hands into fists. He didn't know how to  _ say _ it, even now. 

"Something… happened," Tony admitted. "Nearly six months ago, now." 

"You can tell me anything, Tony, you know that," Bruce said gently. He didn't touch Tony, and Tony was inexplicably grateful. He'd always nuzzled up close to Bruce, before. 

"It was Stane," Tony whispered. "He." His throat felt like it was closing up, like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. A  _ nervous condition _ , the doctor had said. "He - he grabbed me. After my ride, one day." Bruce sucked in a sharp breath. Now that Tony had begun, he couldn't seem to stop talking. "He shoved me into a stall and hit me over the head with something. I don't know what. Never - never found out, after. Seems funny that I should be so caught up on that one thing." It did seem funny. Tony had inspected this memory from every angle, poking and prodding at it ceaselessly until it bled. "I didn't even realize what was happening until he'd gotten my pants to my knees."

" _ Tony _ ," Bruce said, his voice raw and cracked. 

"It hurt so very badly, did you know? I didn't. Mamá had told me what to expect, you know, once they'd found a husband for me. She'd said it wasn't always nice, that I would have to do my duty regardless, to just - to lie back and  _ think of England _ . I think I might have laughed, during, between crying and screaming, because it just seemed so absurd that I could possibly be expected to think of anything different. He'd used my crop across my chest to pin me down, to hold me like - like I was some animal. Had my arms all twisted up behind me, so I couldn't move much. I passed out, they said. I bled, Bruce. For days. The doctor said he'd - he'd torn. Something inside me."

"My God," Bruce whispered.

"And so I'm spoiled. Ruined. I don't know how to tell Bucky, but if he's to formally propose, I suppose I shall have to, won't I? And - just thinking. Of what's expected of me on my wedding night. It makes me want to be violently ill."

"That isn't - that isn't what it's supposed to be like," Bruce said, quiet and gentle but insistent. "It's  _ not _ . I swear, Tony. What Stane did - that was horrible and vile and I wish I could possibly think of some way to kill the man for you. But it isn't like that. Not - not usually."

"You'd know," Tony said with a shrug. Bruce had studied a fair bit of medicine, too, but it wasn't proper for omegas to become doctors. He'd only done it because it was interesting. "I - I don't think I could bear it. Letting anyone else."

"I'm so very sorry," Bruce said sadly. "I wish I knew a better way to help. Words seem so… so useless, at a time like this. A lot of the time, really."

"At least you've said it," Tony said with a shrug. "No one else has. Dad blamed me for it. Said it was my own fault. Mamá… I don't think she believes that, but she hasn't said it, either."

"It absolutely was not your fault," Bruce said, all indignant and righteous.

"Stane wanted the family money," Tony said hollowly. "He thought to make it so that I was filthy, so that no one else would want me and he could come in as the benevolent and generous last option, because he wouldn't mind that I'd been spoiled." Tony grimaced. "Bucky will mind. He won't want me when he finds out, Bruce. And when Dad does turn to Stane…." Tony turned to look at Bruce, sad but determined. "I've promised myself I'll never let him touch me again."

Bruce looked utterly heartbroken for Tony, but he nodded his acceptance. "I wouldn't blame you, Tony. I never would. I… I hope that won't be necessary, that, even if not Sergeant Barnes, then someone else will be happy to marry you and will treat you well the way you deserve. But if that's how things happen, I won't blame you for it."

"Thank you, Bruce," Tony whispered. He reached up and rubbed roughly at his eyes to dry them. "Either way, until it happens, we can pretend everything will work out. I'll need you there with me, Bruce. I need you to… to see the man that I see, to tell me I'm not wishing hopelessly that maybe Bucky won't mind so much, when it comes down to it."

"Anything," Bruce swore. "Whatever you need Tony."


	7. Chapter 7

The ball was in two days, and Steve was nervous. He knew Bucky and Tony were informally engaged, of course, but informal engagements happened all the time and ended all the time with no one kicking up much fuss. This one between Tony and Bucky seemed to be stirring up a lot of rumors and stories, though, and Steve… Steve still hadn't told Bucky, yet. He knew Bucky was serious by now, but he just didn't know  _ how  _ to do it. 

They'd seen some terrible things, the two of them. Steve had watched Bucky get shot and fall, had been the one to help save his life and carry him to their medic. He'd been the one to hold Bucky down as the bullet was dug from his shoulder. It hadn't been a happy occasion. Steve felt, somehow, that this was worse. He felt like he'd be taking away the one bright spot of happiness in Bucky's life since he was shot over a year ago. He  _ knew  _ Bucky wouldn't care, as such, that such an awful thing had happened - well. That wasn't the right way to think of it. Bucky would care a great deal. He just wouldn't think any less of  _ Tony _ . But it might change things, and Steve did not want to take Tony from him, even in his thoughts, so soon. 

Still. He had to tell him. And it had to be before they made the engagement official. 

He'd already heard Bucky complaining mildly to his mother, Winnie, that Tony was too skinny, that he needed some proper meat on his bones. Steve thought so, too. Then again, he'd seen Tony hale and healthy, and the difference between then and now was startling and uncomfortable. He knew why, though - and Bucky didn't. 

Winnie had taken the girls into Norwich proper that day to see about some last minute things, small details that seemed endlessly important to them and didn't mean anything at all to him, and Steve saw his chance. He took Bucky out riding, something they'd done often when they were a fair bit younger and Steve had only been a farmer's welp and a nurse's son. Bucky hadn't questioned it, had even joked that he needed a break from the madness. 

The cook, an old, gnarled woman, had her apprentice, Natasha, make them up a basket for their luncheon, and they set out for a long ride. Steve didn't talk much. He let Bucky talk, let him vent his frustrations about how distant his father had been with the whole affair, how put-out he'd seemed to be with trying to afford a second season for an omega girl. At least, Steve thought somewhat sadly, Bucky hadn't been waxing poetic about Tony yet again. 

They stopped at a hilltop overlooking several farms for their luncheon, leaving the horses to graze. They were good, well-trained horses, and they wouldn't wander far. Even if they had, anyone who came across them would know who they belonged to, and it wasn't like he and Bucky hadn't walked further distances in worse conditions. After their meal, they resumed their ride at an almost glacial pace, not quite ready to turn back for the house. 

"Buck…" Steve began slowly and uncertainly. There was still a part of him that wasn't sure he should say anything at all, but he'd given Stark his word that he would, and Bucky was his oldest friend - he owed it to him to allow Bucky to have all the facts before going into the situation. 

"What's got you so down?" Bucky asked, concern edging its way into his voice. Steve couldn't look at him.

"It's - well. It's something about Tony. Stark - Howard, that is - told me. The night I brought you to their house the first time. I didn't think it was my place to tell you before I knew this was serious, but…"

"You heard me talking to ma about grandmother's rings," Bucky said. Steve nodded. "Well, out with it, then. Whatever it is, I'm sure it won't scare me off. Ma and Becca seemed to know all there was to know about him. They're right gossips, the two of them."

"They wouldn't know this," Steve said quietly. "It… it isn't the sort of thing that makes it into the society pages." Bucky was quiet, and Steve could picture Bucky's frown and the wrinkle between his eyebrows even if he wasn't looking at him. Steve took a deep breath. "There was. Something. It happened. Couple months before you were introduced, far as I can tell."

"Well, he's awful young to have any bastards running about," Bucky said, trying to make light of the situation. 

Steve shook his head. "It isn't that." 

"That's okay, too," Bucky said, and Steve could make out a hint of a shrug from the corner of his eye. "Seems about the worst sort of thing I could imagine you telling me, though." 

Steve sighed and rubbed his hand down his face. He just wasn't as crass as Stark. He didn't know how to just  _ say it _ so bluntly, as he had when he'd told Steve. "Do you remember the time Private Mason's aunt wrote to him about his cousin?" 

"Yes," Bucky said slowly. 

"All the men were saying these terrible things, about how she wasn't fit to be a proper wife any longer, nevermind that she was an alpha anyway." Steve hoped Bucky could pick it up from that.

"And I drilled them for four hours straight and lectured them the entire time," Bucky said, still just as slowly. "Wasn't their right to speak about things they had no part in, things they had no business knowing. If the others hadn't gone through Mason's things, they never would have found out anyhow. And besides, the whole concept was ridiculous to begin with."

Steve nodded, then finally found his courage and turned his head to look at Bucky. "And if something similar had happened to Tony? Would you still feel the same way? Would you - would you still want to keep the engagement?"

Bucky's face drained of color so fast Steve was worried he might fall off his horse. He reached out a hand to steady him, but Bucky reared from his touch. Steve withdrew, feeling stung. He watched the corner of Bucky's jaw work soundlessly as he ground his teeth together. 

"Did it?" he asked, at last.

"Yes," Steve answered honestly. 

"Who?" Bucky demanded, working up to well and truly angry. His color still hadn't returned. 

"Stane. Obadiah Stane. He's - all I really know is that he works closely with Stark and that he's been close with the family for a decade or more. Stark was convinced he was stealing from them, too."

Bucky nodded sharply and looked away. "Why are you telling me this? Why not - why not someone else?"

"Stark asked me to," Steve said honestly. "I don't think it's fair to expect Tony to tell you himself, and Stark is an arse at the best of times. You've met the man. I appreciate him for what he's done for us, of course, but that doesn't mean I like him as a person. He'd have told you the way he told me, and I nearly clocked him for it "

Bucky gave Steve a sharp look. "I've never met Stane, but I'll tell you this, Captain. If you expect me to remain a free man, to marry Tony, to be happy, and to start my own family and be there to support them, then you keep that piece of shit away from me. Am I clear? I will murder him, and I will feel not the slightest moment of regret, except that Tony might miss me while I'm in prison."

"I understand," Steve said with a serious nod. "But Buck, you have to know I'd help you hide the body so no one ever suspected you in the first place, right?"

Bucky gave him a hollow smile. "Yeah, I do." He looked off in the distance, the smile dropping away and the frown making its return. "Man like Stane? He won't keep quiet for long. He can't be happy about the informal proposal."

"What does he care?" Steve asked.

Bucky rolled his eyes. "He wants their fortune, Steve. He'd thought to spoil Tony to any other alpha so he could step in at the end and claim him for himself."

"That's an awful lot to risk…" Steve wasn't so sure he understood how that worked, really. He knew a bit about the politics behind families and old money versus new money and other things, but he didn't understand a lot of the inner workings. He wasn't truly a part of them, after all. He was only a Captain. The only name he had was the one he'd made for himself. He was proud of it, of course, but all the rest seemed hopelessly beyond him. Peggy seemed not to mind, at least, but her name was based on the military, anyhow. There was some unspoken difference there that he didn't understand, either. He also didn't much care. He was marrying Peggy because he loved her and for no other reason. 

"Not truly," Bucky said quietly, "not for someone like him. He's protected in all this. He knows he is, too. That makes him all the more dangerous." 

Steve was quiet, wondering at that. He didn't understand how Stane was so protected, and Bucky wasn't explaining the way he usually did. Steve supposed it came down to connections, again. Or perhaps what Howard had mentioned before, about Stane selling Stark's company's secrets if he left. 

"Stane will threaten to sell this story to the papers," Bucky said, breaking the silence. He was still staring out into the sparse trees and refusing to look at Steve, but that was okay. At least he was talking. Some of his color was back, too.

"He'd damage his own reputation if he did something like that," Steve argued. Surely the man wasn't that stupid. 

"He won't mention himself," Bucky said with a shrug. "He'll probably make sure the papers don't mention him at all. It'll be all about Tony and paint him out as some harlot." Bucky shook his head. "You don't get why this is bad, Steve, and - I understand why. But  _ you _ need to understand it. It makes things very complicated for me. If Stane sells this to the papers, they will make everything out to be Tony's fault - whether or not it's true doesn't matter. Tony will be turned away from every social event from grand balls to tea time at his neighbor's until the scandal blows over, and that will take years. Long years. I'll be caught up in that, as will my sisters, and ma. I - I can't do that to my sisters, Steve. I can't end Edith's season, with it only just beginning. Then there's Gemma's season, and that'll start in a few years. Liza's young, yet, but… it could affect her, too. And Tony's friend? That one he mentioned at Cambridge. He'll be let go if this gets out." Bucky sighed heavily and scraped his hand through his hair. "How do I justify ruining Tony's and my family's reputations? I don't want to break the engagement. I want to make it formal. But how do I make that decision knowing so much is at stake?"

Steve didn't answer right away. He hadn't thought of that at all. The social politics had always escaped him. He and Bucky were a strange friendship - always had been. Steve had been introduced into society by Bucky's family a little along over the past few years, but only after he'd made a name for himself. He knew Bucky's family loved him no matter what, so it hadn't much mattered that he wasn't ever invited to the fancy parties when he was so much younger. 

"I think you should talk to Tony," Steve said at last, just as they swung back toward the direction of the house. "Maybe Stark has some sort of plan in place for dealing with Stane? You never know."

Bucky nodded, though he still looked half way to distraction. Steve sighed and felt a little guilty for bringing all this up, but he knew he had to do it so Bucky would have enough time before the ball to get his head on straight once more. He'd do all he could for his dearest friend, up to and including convincing Winnie Barnes to leave Bucky be for a while if it became necessary.


	8. Chapter 8

"You've been… distracted this evening, Sergeant," Tony said as they took yet another turn on the dance floor. He squeezed Bucky's shoulder through his jacket. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," Bucky said, still distant and a little cold. Tony felt a tiny part of him curl into a tight ball and cringe away. The song ended, and Bucky took a step away from Tony. "Can we talk? Somewhere private."

Tony felt a flash of fear lance through him, but he nodded. If Bucky meant to do anything more than simply talk to him, well. Tony was loud. Surely someone would hear him, with as many people who were around. He followed Bucky out of the main hall where the dancing was and into a small library. It wasn't far, but Bucky shut the door behind them. Tony tried to wipe the sweat gathering on his palms on his trousers.

"I know about Stane."

Tony felt his heart skip a beat. Of all the things he'd thought Bucky might do or say, that hadn't been one of them. Bucky still wasn't looking at him. Tony sank into the chair by the door, his legs no longer consenting to hold his weight.

"Who told you?" he croaked. 

"Steve," Bucky said shortly. "Stark told him. I'm not sure why, and I didn't ask. I doubt Steve thought to ask, either." Tony watched as Bucky poured out two small glasses of brandy. He saw Bucky's eyes widen in surprise, and then his expression morph into concern and sympathy when he finally turned to see Tony - shaking like a leaf and all the color gone from his face. "Here." He passed the glass to Tony, and Tony sipped at it. 

"Thanks," Tony whispered. He sipped again, then cleared his throat. "I suppose that's the end, then. Well. I did have quite a nice time with you, Sergeant Barnes. Do give you sisters and your mother my excuses. I think I'll… collect Bruce and head back to our hotel." Tony held out his glass to Bucky, but when he wouldn't take it, he set it on the small table and stood. 

"Tony - Tony, wait," Bucky said, catching his arm in a light grip before he could reach out and open the door. Tony jerked his arm free, and Bucky let go of him as if Tony had burned him. "I'm sorry. That - I'm sorry. Please, just. Wait."

"Whatever for?" Tony asked, not turning to look at him. "Surely you don't think I owe you something for having kept this a secret?" Hate, hot and bitter and sharp, curled in Tony's belly. "I won't ask you to keep it from anyone, even. Let Howard continue to pay off the papers, if he wants. God knows why he even bothers. I'll be married to Stane before the end of the year, I'm sure, since he'll be the only one left who would think to have me, ruined as he made me. And then. Well." Tony looked over his shoulder at Bucky's storm cloud expression. "I shouldn't be anyone's problem, then." He opened the door to the library and left, stalking straight past the big hall and toward the door. A footman scrambled to get the door open for Tony before he opened it himself, and Tony breathed in the wet, warm smell of the night. 

A hand grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, and Tony opened his mouth to say something else cutting and mean, but Bucky's bright, luminous eyes were intense and piercing. 

"I would have you," he said before Tony could say anything. He gripped both of Tony's shoulders - almost too hard - and stared down at him. "I  _ would _ . Steve told me two days ago, and I told him the same thing. My knowing that bastard raped you hasn't changed how much I like you, Tony. It only made everything so much more complicated. I have my sisters to worry about. My mother. And Stane - he isn't the sort of person who will take having what he wants - having  _ you _ \- taken from him without some sort of retribution."

Tony blinked at him, shocked. What? 

"I wanted to propose formally, Tony.  _ Tonight _ . But - but if I have to worry about someone running to the papers and painting you as some cheap whore, I - I  _ can't _ . Don't you see? I don't care for myself. It makes no difference. But Edith will be shunned, and Ma, and even Gemma. I can't let that happen to them. How can I?" 

"It - it won't," Tony said, stumbling over his words. "Howard knows everyone. He's already told them he'll pay them double whatever Stane asks so they keep the story to themselves. He - he made it out like Stane knew he was getting the axe and he's trying to cause a huge scandal for the family on his way out. Which, he  _ is _ , but no one will take him seriously now." 

Bucky wrapped his arms around Tony and held him close to his chest, burying his nose in Tony's hair. "Oh, thank God," he whispered. "I have been so worried." He backed away and held Tony at arms' length. "Marry me, Tony Stark. Please."

Tony felt like he'd been jerked around like a child's doll. He nodded, eyes wide. Bucky cupped Tony's face in his hands and pressed his lips to Tony's, infinitely gentle. Tony felt as if his legs had given out, but when he stumbled, Bucky grinned against his cheek and caught him around his middle, holding Tony close to his chest. He kissed Tony again, then lifted him and spun him 'round. Tony held tight to Bucky's shoulders, feeling dizzy and giddy. 

Did he really get to keep this?

Someone cleared their throat pointedly. Bucky slowly let Tony slide down to his feet, but he didn't let him go. That was… bold. Tony felt his face heat when he looked toward the doors and found not only his own mother, but Bucky's mother - and Bruce and Steve.

"Oh, let me die now," Tony murmured. Bucky chuckled into his ear. 

"That's quite enough fun for one night, I should think," Maria said, a small smile on her lips. 

"Begging your pardon," Bucky said with a dip of his head, "only, Tony's just agreed to marry me."

"Has he?" Maria asked, and she didn't even pretend to be surprised. "Well, I suppose one more kiss should be forgiven, then. Winifred, dearest, will you kindly walk with me to ask after our car?"

Winnie, a stout woman with silvering hair, laughed and nodded. "Steve will keep an eye out, I expect."

Maria looked around. "What do you expect them to do? Roll around in the gravel?" She laughed with Winnie at whatever image must have passed through their minds. They walked inside, already discussing wedding plans. Tony gaped after his mother in shock, but Bucky just chuckled and shook his head.

"One more kiss, Tony?" Bucky asked, turning to face him. "Before they make sure we aren't ever alone for another moment?" 

Tony's lips quirked up in a smile. He was still reeling, more than a little, from all that had just happened. "Yes," he said softly. Bucky caressed one of Tony's cheeks in his palm and kissed Tony gently but thoroughly, taking as long as he could until Steve was the one to clear his throat. Tony was breathless and swaying by the time Bucky reluctantly stopped kissing him, but he kept one arm around Tony anyway. 

"Well, congratulations, you two," Steve said with a small smile. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks, Stevie," Bucky said with a broad smile. He squeezed his arm around Tony gently. "Sounded like my ma and yours were already planning everything, didn't it?"

"I think Mamá's been planning my wedding since I was born," Tony mused. "Possibly even before that. If there's something you want in particular, make sure you speak up about it, otherwise I doubt they'll listen." 

Bucky pressed a soft kiss to Tony's hair. "As long as we're married at the end of the day, then the rest is just decoration." 

"Do you think the wedding will be this year?" Bruce asked, coming down the steps to join them. "Or do you think you'll wait?"

"The sooner the better," Tony said quietly, and Bucky's arm tightened just a little more. "Less… less to worry about, once we've been married." Bruce gave Tony a sad but knowing nod. 

"We'll wait as long as you want," Bucky said, fiercely protective. "If he so much as  _ looks _ at you -"

"Don't," Steve said curtly. "Not here, not now." Bucky clenched his jaw and nodded. Steve looked at Tony. "Do you think you'll announce your engagement in the papers?"

"It's likely," Tony said with a nod. "Mamá won't be stopped, now it's all happening. I expect we'll put in at the London house for a while. She'll want to get done with her shopping."

"We'll have to see about looking in on you," Steve said with a smile. "Peggy's out in London, this time of year. She couldn't make it to the ball, but I'd like very much to see her again soon."

"I'll have Mamá set up something for us," Tony said, smiling. "She loves dinner parties. We've known the Carters for ages. Howard only does much with the Major-General, but Mamá and I have been to tea and dinner with Peggy and her grandmother dozens of times. I'll ask Peggy to be a bridesmaid." Tony grinned at Bruce. "And you, too, Brucie. You aren't getting out of this one."

"Oh, Tony -" Bruce tried to protest, holding up his hands and shaking his head.

Tony slipped from Bucky's side and plastered himself to Bruce's instead. "Bruce. You are my oldest and dearest friend. You can't honestly expect me to marry without you there, can you?" He turned his big, pleading eyes on Bruce, and he saw it the moment Bruce caved. Tony pecked him on the cheek. "It'll be a lovely time. Probably an absolute mad house, but lovely all the same."

"You always manage to talk me into the worst ideas," Bruce sighed, already resigned to his fate. 

"The  _ best _ ideas," Tony corrected. He turned when he heard the motor and wheels of a car crunching along the gravel and frowned at the sight. For all the night had been tossing him about like a ship in a storm, he was sad to see it. He wasn't quite ready to leave yet. He took the few steps to stand before Bucky once more. "I hope you'll be able to come up to London."

"I will do my very best," Bucky promised. He swiftly bent and kissed Tony once more, just a short peck on his lips, then he straightened as the door opened and Winnie and Maria came back outside. "Be well, Tony."

"Keep yourself out of trouble," Tony said with a nod.

Steve laughed and clapped Bucky on the shoulder. "It's like he doesn't know us at all." Bucky matched Steve's grin, but then the formal farewells cane 'round, and Tony found himself hurried into the car with Bruce at his side and Maria across from him. 

Maria smiled at him. "Well, that was quite lovely, I think."

"I'm surprised you allowed that," Tony said honestly. "The - the kissing, I mean."

"Oh, Antonio," Maria said, leaning forward to hold his cheek in one hand. "You've been badly hurt by one alpha. You aren't likely to trust another so soon. James is a good boy, a dutiful son. I know he won't do anything too forward until you are married. If allowing these small affections will help you become acquainted with his scent and his touch, then all the better."

Tony stared at her for a long moment as she sat back on her own seat and composed herself. That had been a fair bit more emotional than he'd been expecting. Bruce was clenching his hands together between his knees and staring at the floor, trying desperately to pretend he wasn't a part of the conversation at all.

"He knows, Mamá," Tony said evenly. "About - Stane. Steve told him, apparently. Dad told Steve to tell him. Why?"

Maria didn't do anything so crass as to shrug, but Tony could see that, perhaps, she wanted to. "It was right for him to know before the formal proposal, anyhow. I cannot guess at how your father thinks, sometimes. In this, I will say only that I think his judgement was sound." She smoothed her skirt gently. "We'll wait a week before sending the notice to the papers. I'll warn your father, first, so he can be on hand to deal with Stane however he sees fit."

Tony nodded and sat back against his seat heavily. He hoped he'd been right, earlier, with what he'd told Bucky. He didn't want anyone to believe Stane, but there would always be a few who did. Perhaps more than a few. He just didn't want Bucky's family to suffer. They'd done nothing wrong, in all this. Bucky had been right to be concerned for them, Tony knew, but he was still reeling a little. He'd thought for sure that Bucky wouldn't want him when he found out. A very small part of him had hoped, of course, but to have that realized? It was beyond a miracle.

Now, he just had to survive Stane and the rumor mill until the wedding. Surely, after all this, fate or God or whatever made these decisions, would let him have this. 


	9. Chapter 9

Tony was pressed almost directly against Bucky's side, as he had been nearly since Bucky climbed out of the cab he'd arrived in with Steve. Peggy was here, too, and she was standing tall and proud at Steve's side, but they were almost always touching, as well. Maria had a fond tolerance for all things "young lovers" and she encouraged the other chaperones to overlook the mostly innocent touching. Tony had never been more grateful to her than he was the moment he heard Stane's voice from the hall. 

Tonight's dinner party wasn't a small affair, not truly, but it wasn't a big to-do, either. They had Bucky and Steve and Peggy present, along with the Major-General, but Bucky's family wasn't due to arrive for another two days. Steve had lost his father when he was still a boy, and his mother had passed just before he went away to the army. Bucky's sister Becca and her Scottish lord-husband were present. Tony's elderly grandmother from Spain, a woman he'd met only a handful of times, had arrived the day before. Howard's parents had both died before Tony had been sired. Bruce was due to arrive on the train tomorrow. The wedding wasn't until next week, but they still had to make sure everyone was present and accounted for and properly attired, and they had to run rehearsals. 

Stane wasn't supposed to be there at all. He hadn't been invited.

Bucky shot Tony a glance, combined with a raised eyebrow when Tony tensed and shrank against Bucky's side. "Don't let me be alone with him," Tony whispered urgently into Bucky's shoulder. 

The library door open had been kept open all evening in deference to Tony's grandmother, who didn't like closed doors for some reason no one had been able to decipher. It didn't take long for Stane to step through the door, Jarvis a step behind him. 

"My apologies, Master Stark," Jarvis said, looking first to Howard, then to Tony. 

"Stane," Howard said, standing. "What's brought you here so late?" He kept his tone light enough, but the hard look he was giving Stane said something different all together. Bucky's hand on Tony's waist tightened. 

"I see I haven't been invited to the wedding," Stane said, a jovial smile on his face. "Not to worry, not to worry. I merely had a little wedding gift for Tony. I've had your footman set it in your study. Tony?" 

Tony didn't want to go. Not at all. But now Howard was looking at him, and Tony swallowed down his fear and summoned up a smile. "Thank you. Just a moment." He turned to look at Bucky and mouthed the words 'two minutes' before stepping away. Bucky squeezed his hand, then let him leave. 

The study was only just across the hall. Maria was already urging Howard to take her mother up to bed. The woman was falling asleep on herself as it was, but she understood and spoke very little English, so it took both Howard and Maria getting her up and on her feet and steering her toward the stairs. That left only the Major-General in the room as the appropriate chaperone - since Bucky's sister and brother-in-law had already gone up to bed -, but Tony wasn't worried. If he screamed, surely they would all come running.

Stane said something about how good it was that Tony was finally settling down, but Tony barely heard him over how hard his heart was pounding in his chest. Stane opened the door to the study and ushered Tony inside, then closed it again almost immediately. There was indeed a box, wrapped with a bow, waiting on Howard's desk. Tony walked toward it apprehensively. His hands were shaking. 

The moment he reached the box, Stane grabbed him and slammed him against the wall hard enough to knock him stupid. Dazed, Tony blinked rapidly. He could feel Stane's body pressed against his back, the heavy, oppressive weight threatening to choke him. A meaty hand wrapped around his throat. Tony gagged when he felt Stane's other hand pawing at his trousers. Stane managed to get them undone. Tony tried elbowing at Stane's chest, but he was heavy, and Tony had yet to gain back the weight he'd lost nearly a year ago. 

Stane's scent in his nose was thick and nauseating. Tony gagged again, then felt Stane's hand tighten on his throat. Stane was already trying to shove his pants down, but there was another fastening he hadn't managed, and they were tearing. Tony groped blindly over the desk beside him. His hand closed over something, and he gripped it tight. 

Panicked and frightened and absolutely determined to never let Stane do to him what he'd done once before, Tony shoved what he had thought was a paperweight at Stane's neck. But it wasn't a paperweight at all, and it sank deep into Stane's flesh. Hot blood coated Tony's hand. When Stane's grip loosened out of reflex or surprise, Tony turned to see what had happened. 

Stane was quickly turning ashen, Howard's heavy letter knife embedded in his neck. Tony shoved him, and Stane took a step back. He staggered. The door to the study opened hard enough to bang into the wall. Tony looked from Stane's gray-purple face to where Bucky was standing, staring in shock. Stane reached up and yanked the letter knife from his neck with a sickening wet sound. Bucky ran closer, but Stane fell immediately, gasping for breath even as blood gushed from the hole in his neck. Behind Bucky came Steve and the Major-General and Peggy last. 

Bucky stopped in front of Tony but didn't touch him. "Tony?" he said it softly, slowly, as if Tony were a small child or an easily spooked creature. "Sweetheart? Are -" He flattened his lips into a thin line. "Did he hurt you?"

"He was trying," Tony rasped. He didn't think his voice was supposed to sound like that. He swallowed, and that hurt. He made to tug his clothes together, but Bucky gently grabbed his wrist to stop him. Tony realized his hand was covered in blood. It was shaking. "I didn't let him." He looked up and met Bucky's eyes. "I - I swore. I swore I'd never let him hurt me again."

"You did - you did so well," Bucky said thickly. "And I am so very proud of you. But we can't stay in here. Come on. We'll go to the sitting room. I'll get Jarvis to bring something to clean you up and send for the doctor."

"Should we send for the constable?" Steve asked slowly, like he was only asking because he knew he should, not because he wanted to. 

"Yes," Major-General Carter said after a moment. "Send for him. I'll report all this. I might need additional information." He looked to his daughter. 

"I think I've gathered enough of the facts," Peggy said with a short not. "Steve, help Bucky get Tony settled. I'll find a footman to send for the constable and make sure no one enters the room, and then I'll go and speak to Mr. and Mrs. Stark." 

Steve nodded to Peggy gratefully and helped Bucky lead Tony around Stane's body and across the hall. Jarvis saw the state of them when they left the room, and the way Bucky held Tony's bloodied hand well away from anything else, and he turned immediately to the closest maid and sent her to fetch some hot water and soap and Tony's dressing gown. Steve and Bucky got Tony seated on a couch just as she returned, and Bucky cleaned Tony's hands and face - tracked with tears he hadn't realized he'd spilled. By the time Tony was clean, she had Tony's dressing gown, so Bucky helped Tony strip down to his undershirt and take off his shoes before wrapping him up first in the dressing gown and then in a blanket. He tugged Tony into his lap and held him close, whispering apologies into his hair that Tony either couldn't hear or didn't want. Tony said nothing at all. 

Steve sat with them, one of his hands wrapped around Tony's ankle. A footman came in with tea, but he merely left it on the low table in front of the couch and left again with only a worried look for Tony. Maria came in a short while later and pressed a soft kiss to Tony's forehead, then left again. 

"Don't let them cancel the wedding," Tony whispered later. Bucky was rocking with him back forth. It wasn't much, but he didn't want to stop doing it. He kept his cheek pressed to Tony's hair. Tony cleared his throat and tried to speak louder, but he couldn't manage it. "I don't - just don't let them."

"All right," Bucky said softly. "All right, Tony. I'll tell them."

"He doesn't get to take this from me, too," Tony insisted. Bucky tightened his arms around Tony wordlessly. 

"Here, Buck," Steve said, standing. He passed him a mug. "See if you can get him to drink some of this. Maybe it will help with his voice. He's - he's bruising." Bucky made a wordless, wounded noise and he hid his eyes in Tony's hair for a moment, but he eventually accepted the cup from Steve and pressed it into Tony's hands. Tony sipped at his slowly, grimacing a little the first few times he swallowed. Steve left a short while later to see if there was anything he could help with.

A doctor came by to examine Tony much later, waking Bucky and Tony from a light doze. He declared Tony's throat badly bruised, but the only thing for it was to drink plenty of hot tea with honey and lemon and to rest. Tony nodded tiredly. Once the doctor was gone, Bucky rearranged them so that they were both lying on the couch, with Tony lying over him but still wrapped snugly in the blanket. Bucky kept both arms wrapped protectively around Tony as they slept.

Howard found them together later. He was opening his mouth to say something when Maria placed her hand gently on Howard's arm to stop him. "Let them rest, dear. It has been a very long evening for us all. Tony needs the reassurance. They won't get up to any mischief tonight. And even if they do, what is one week, in the grand scheme of things?" Maria patted Howard's arm and led him from the sitting room. She put in a quiet word with Steve, and he found himself looking at the pair of them with a soft, sad smile before claiming one of the chairs in the room. It wouldn't be good, comfortable sleep, but he'd certainly slept in worse places.

The morning was quiet. Most people were reserved, trying to be respectful of what had happened the night before. Tony and Bucky parted only long enough to bathe and dress, and then they were together once more. Tony was surprised by how very needy he felt. He'd clung to Maria desperately after the first time Stane had attacked him, but she'd had her own appointments and commitments, and he'd had to pick himself and move on rather more quickly than he probably should have. Bucky didn't mind his clinging, though. In fact, Bucky seemed to encourage it. 

After their breakfast, when they were headed out to take a walk in the vast gardens with Peggy and Steve, Bucky's sister Becca invited herself along as well. Tony didn't know Becca at all. He'd only just met her the day before. She was nearly identical to Bucky, though slimmer and decidedly much more feminine with her very long hair and narrow waist.

She hooked her arm through Tony's and stole him away from Bucky once they were in the hedge maze. It wasn't much of a challenge, especially not for Tony, but none of the others had walked it before. 

"You know, Bucky and Steve once stole a pair of horses from the stables and raced them 'round the property back home," she said, a smile curving up one side of her mouth. It wasn't quite Bucky's devilish smirk, but it was close. "They were about eleven, I think, and Steve was skinny and sickly back then. Steve caught a bit of dust or some such and started coughing, so Bucky tried to turn his horse to go and see what was wrong. More fool him, I said, even back then. The horse didn't like that at all, and it bucked him right off. He broke his arm." She laughed. "He still got up and made sure Steve was all right, though. Insisted Steve ride home while Bucky walked both horses back, hiding his broken arm the whole time. He got a right tanning, he did, and only after did he go to our butler and tell him, 'I think my arm's broken.'" She laughed even harder. She caught Tony's confused look. "You've no siblings, so you can't understand why that's so endlessly funny. Either way, the point is, Bucky's a right stubborn ol' goat, when he wants to be. And he's gone and fallen in love with you."

Tony didn't gape at her, if only because it was bad form. "How could you -" He stopped himself and shook his head, then looked away from her and out at the hedges. "Doesn't matter, now. The wedding was rushed. We all knew it. It was only because of - of Stane that we rushed things in the first place. To keep him away from me. Now that we no longer have to worry about that, I expect Mamá and Mrs. Barnes would like to reschedule. We could have a much longer engagement, do things more properly."

Becca snorted. "If you think Bucky will allow his wedding to be rescheduled, you're daft, and I know better than to believe that." She paused and looked at him, searching his face. "Unless that's what you want?"

Tony bit his lip. "I don't know what I want," he admitted softly. "I - I like Bucky. Quite a lot, actually. I'm not sure I love him. Perhaps I will, in time." He shrugged. "But the reason for all this was Stane. Without that looming over us, things will be different, won't they?"

"Well, of course they will," Becca said easily. "You won't have to be so afraid all the time. You've killed the man." She ignored Tony's shudder. "He's dead and gone and he can't hurt you again. I think most of us have the story now. Hard to miss all the commotion from last night, you know. My husband is a drunk, I know, but at least he is a happy drunk and he only gets very loud and he stays inoffensive. Mostly." She winked at Tony. "Think of it this way. Bucky is already in love with you, Tony. He might not be willing to admit it quite yet, not even to himself, but I can see it. He's my twin brother. I know him better than anyone. Yes, even better than Steve. I've seen him at his very best and his very worst. You make him happy. That isn't to say that you must marry him. If he doesn't make you happy, or if you are uncertain, then by all means, talk to Bucky. Reschedule. But he will only love you more as time goes on. Regardless of your decision. He doesn't do anything by half, my brother."

Tony nodded slowly. They were nearing the end of the maze, but Tony wasn't quite done yet. He guided Becca around another turn. It wouldn't add much to their walk, but he hoped it would be enough. 

"I'm afraid," he admitted in a hush. "Of the - of what comes after. The wedding night." He wasn't blushing. He couldn't find it in himself to be embarrassed. He was too nervous even asking - just putting this fear into words was enough to turn his stomach. He'd eaten little at breakfast, otherwise he was sure he'd have lost it all. 

Becca patted Tony's arm and nodded. "I was too," she admitted seriously. He felt a little relief that she was at least being honest so far. "Finlay was kind, though. And gentle. It was not unpleasant. Actually," she said with a smile and a conspiratorial wink, "it was quite pleasurable. I think the English must be doing it wrong, with all their talk of lying back and thinking of England." She laughed. "And don't worry, Tony. I've already made sure to have Finlay talk to Bucky about it. He'll make an evening of it with Bucky and Steve both, I expect. They'll all come home drunk as skunks, but, ah." She shrugged and smiled widely. "It really is great fun, sometimes." She reached over and patted Tony's belly. "We'll have you up to the castle to fatten you up. Can't expect any pups from you when you're so terribly thin, can we?" 

Tony did flush red that time. "I was always too nervous to eat," he said quietly. 

"That's all right," Becca said with a nod. "Your tormentor is dead now, though. No more reason to be afraid. It won't vanish so easy as that, certainly, but it will over time." 

"I hope so," Tony said miserably. He was quiet for another moment as he guided them back to the correct path to lead them to the exit. "You really think we should continue with the wedding?"

"I do," Becca said with a warm smile. "You deserve to be happy and secure, Tony, but I also want the same for my brother. He's a right pain sometimes, but he's always been good to us, his sisters. He's no slouch."

Tony nodded and resolved himself. "Then I'll speak to Mamá." 

The others were waiting on them at the exit, and Bucky teased them lightly for taking so long to find their way free. Tony just smiled and let Bucky take him into his arms. He felt Bucky press a kiss to his hair again. As he thought back over his and Becca's conversation, he realized he felt very safe in Bucky's arms. He didn't particularly want to be anywhere else. He hadn't slept well for weeks and weeks after the first time Stane had hurt him, but with Bucky last night, he'd slept soundly, despite not being particularly comfortable.

Later that day, after their luncheon, Tony found Maria alone in the sitting room at her secretary. "Mamá, I still want to marry Bucky next week."

Maria turned and looked at Tony, with raised eyebrows. "Well, of course, mí querido."

"I wasn't sure if you'd planned to reschedule things, now that… well. Now that the need wasn't quite so pressing."

"Why on earth would we reschedule simply because one uninvited guest had the indecency to die in our house?" She waved that thought away imperiously. "Our close personal guests are all arrived tomorrow, and the entire village will also be there. I've given the staff leave to attend as well. Antonio, I wouldn't reschedule if the house burned to the ground." She laughed lightly, and Tony felt something hot squeeze in his chest. 

"Thank you, Mamá." Sometimes, she really did know better than he did. He gave her a quick hug and kissed her cheek, then left to go see if Bruce had arrived yet. He was due any minute.


	10. Chapter 10

After the wedding was said and done, Bucky could only be reasonably certain of one thing: he and Tony were married. He was fairly certain there had been a bit of a mess over seating, there at the beginning, and that somewhere toward the middle - but before Tony came down the aisle - there was something about Liza losing something or spilling something. But after Tony - after he'd seen Tony, all done up in solid white, he'd forgotten everything else. None of the rest had mattered. He was breathless as he'd repeated whatever the priest was telling him to say. Tony looked fairly breathless himself. He was pretty sure Steve was laughing at him. He almost dropped the damn ring, too, but he managed to get it on Tony's slim, calloused finger. And then he kissed Tony in front of everyone. 

After, there had been lots of drinking and dancing. Bucky hadn't eaten much. He was still nervous. Becca laughed at him when he told her, but then she kissed his cheek and told him not to worry, that he'd do just fine. He felt better, after that. He danced with Tony a lot, and that was - that was lovely. Tony fit so well against him. 

They were given the dowager's house for the time being, with Natasha - his own cook's apprentice - and Hogan - Tony's valet - as their new staff. They had no other staff, other than a slip of a girl as a maid, yet, but they would, soon. Bucky hadn't had his own valet since he'd joined the army. Tony had promised Becca they would go and visit her in Scotland, so once they'd finished their honeymoon trip. 

"At the castle, they took our bedclothes and hung them from the balcony to prove we'd consummated the marriage," Becca whispered to Tony with a drunken giggle. Bucky rolled his eyes, but he laughed as well. The majority of the wedding party had followed them in a train to see them off for the night. 

Tony gasped, horrified and yet delighted. "They never did!"

"Aye, laddie," Finlay said, his voice booming. "Took meh kilt as we went up, too!" Becca tossed her head back with a laugh. Bucky remembered that, faintly. He hadn't been much in a position to celebrate with them. His arm had still been in a sling, and he'd been in a terrible mood. 

Steve slung an arm around Bucky's shoulders. "Well, we won't demand your bedclothes, Buck, but be prepared for some awful teasing." 

"I never expect anything less from you," Bucky said, elbowing Steve in the side.

They arrived at the small house, and Bucky scooped Tony into his arms and carried him through to whistles and cheers. He kissed Tony soundly as someone closed the door for them, then he carried Tony up the stairs and to the bedroom that had been made up for them. He set Tony delicately on the bed. 

"It has been a very long day," Tony said with a small smile.

"But we're married at the end of it," Bucky pointed out. "That's the only bit that matters, in the end." He pulled off Tony's shoes, then his socks, and placed everything off to the side. He did the same with his own shoes and socks and jacket, then went back to help Tony with his jacket. Tony watched him curiously, but he offered up his sleeves and helped Bucky undress him bit by bit. 

"I'm going to need a new valet," Tony said with an amused smile. 

"I'd dress you and undress you every day," Bucky said quietly, a small smile on his face. "I'm only a Sergeant. I didn't get a valet. Steve could have, but he'd never had one before, so he didn't see the need for one. I expect Major-General Carter will insist once he and Peggy are married."

"They're terribly useful," Tony said thoughtfully.

"We'll have to see about appointments and such anyhow," Bucky said with a shrug as he helped Tony to his feet and began to slowly unfasten his trousers. He glanced often at Tony's face, checking for any sign that he wasn't comfortable, but Tony still looked bemused. "I've never done those sorts of things. I've learned a fair bit about managing an estate, but it's never seemed particularly urgent."

"Leave that to me then," Tony said easily. "I'm good with that sort of thing. I'd like a space for myself, though. It'd have to be away from the house. I very nearly blew up part of Oxford, the one time." Tony giggled, a fair bit drunk himself. "I've been trying to improve steam engines." 

"Perhaps a barn, then," Bucky said with a smile. He'd had enough conversations with Tony to have an idea of exactly how smart he was, but he had a feeling Tony hadn't exactly been allowed to do much with that. 

"How - Howard will want me to build things for his company. Guns." Tony nodded very seriously, then turned wide eyes on Bucky. "You can test them with me." He said it as if in awe, and Bucky couldn't help but chuckle and kiss Tony again. He wasn't certain he'd ever get tired of that. Tony seemed to agree, threading his fingers into Bucky's hair and pulling him closer. Bucky managed to step out of his own trousers, leaving them both down to their underwear and undershirts. 

He lifted Tony and set him on the bed once more, hardly breaking their kiss. Tony broke it, though, once Bucky nudged him back a little further. He scooted himself across the bed and flopped himself down on the pillows, then squeezed his eyes shut tight. Bucky stopped at the sight, frowning. 

"Tony?" 

"Just - get it over with," Tony said, quiet and resigned and a little sad. "We have to. I know that. I'm just asking that you make it quick."

"Oh, Tony," Bucky said, his heart breaking for him. He crawled up the bed and curled around Tony, but from the side, not on top of him. Tony opened his eyes in surprise, then turned his head to look at Bucky. "I'm not doing anything you don't want, Tony. I'm not going to hurt you like that, either."

Tony bit his lip. "How do you know it won't hurt?" 

"Because if I'm hurting you, then I'm not doing it right," Bucky said. He flushed a little. "Finlay might have given me some advice, as well."

"Becca mentioned that," Tony said quietly, "I just - I didn't know if you'd listen." 

Bucky cupped Tony face in his hand and drew him in for a soft, sweet kiss. "I asked him, Tony. I know Stane hurt you. I don't ever want to do that. He said it might be a little uncomfortable, at the very start, but it shouldn't  _ hurt _ . And Tony, if I ever do anything to hurt you, I want you to tell me straight away. Don't keep it to yourself. But we don't have to do anything tonight if you don't want to."

"We have to," Tony said quietly. "That's - that's the only way." 

"Only if you are absolutely sure," Bucky insisted. "A few days or a week, or hell, even a month, it won't make a difference. Longer than that, if you need it."

"I don't want anyone to see me as an unclaimed omega again," Tony said, quiet but determined. "I want them to know that I am yours."

"I'll be just as much yours," Bucky said quietly. "Don't ever doubt that." Tony nodded and turned to his side. He put one careful hand on Bucky's side, then kissed Bucky again, soft but insistent. Bucky let Tony lead, let him touch his chest under his shirt until he became impatient and began to pull it up and off. Bucky sat up enough to tug it over his head, then lay flat on his back and encouraged Tony to sit over him. 

Tony traced over the messy scar on his shoulder where he'd been shot and they'd dug out the bullet, later. He was surprised when Tony bent over and kissed the scar gently. He then kissed Bucky again, and Bucky held Tony's hips with both hands, not daring to do much more while Tony was still so skittish. Tony kissed over Bucky's jaw and down to his neck, and Bucky turned his head to allow Tony more access. That felt so very nice. He hummed low in his throat as Tony's hands continued to wander, down over his chest to his abdomen, tracing the outline of muscles. 

"Oh," Tony said faintly. Bucky flushed a little when he realized his erection was brushing up against Tony's backside. "Does - does that feel good?"

"Yes," Bucky said, almost breathless. "I could show you, if you like. Or you could stay right there and keep doing whatever you want."

A determined look crossed Tony's features. "Show me," he said. He slipped off Bucky's lap and lay on his back on the bed. Bucky rolled to his side and propped himself on one arm. He didn't push himself over Tony, didn't want to be too overbearing just yet. He kissed Tony first, spending a long moment getting Tony to relax into the sensation. Then he nosed at Tony's cheek until he tilted his head to the side, and he nuzzled at Tony's throat, kissing and licking the soft, delicate skin. He let his free hand roam over Tony's chest, but he didn't dare go under Tony's shirt - that was, until Tony took his hand and guided it under the hem. Tony's skin was so soft and smooth and warm, he never wanted to stop. 

"That does feel nice," Tony said, half-breathless. 

"There's more," Bucky said, a small smile on his face as he kissed his way back up to Tony's lips. "If you want it."

Tony nodded, so Bucky trailed his hand lower down Tony's abdomen. Tony was hard, too, he soon discovered, and he trailed his fingers up and down Tony's length. He shifted to tug Tony's shirt up higher, and he ducked his head to kiss a hot path down Tony's chest. Tony writhed on the bed, making soft sounds.

"Tell me if you want me to stop, Tony," Bucky said, taking a moment to pause and look up at him. Tony nodded and brushed his fingers through Bucky's hair, and Bucky hooked his fingers into Tony's shorts to tug them down. He slid down the bed as well. He pulled Tony's shorts off his legs, and Tony sat up enough to pull off his shirt, leaving him bare and vulnerable. He looked curious more than frightened, though, and Bucky was bolstered by that. 

Once Bucky had settled himself between Tony's legs, he took Tony's cock in one hand and opened his mouth, licking a hot, wet stripe up the side. Finlay hadn't exactly been specific about this part, but Bucky could guess enough, he hoped, to get him through. Tony's eyes were wide and his mouth dropped open as he made a high-pitched sound in his throat. Bucky grinned at him and repeated the movement, finishing it by closing his mouth around the tip and sucking very gently. Tony's hips bucked, but Bucky caught them with one hand and kept him pressed down to the mattress - not hard, but firm. 

"Oh,  _ Bucky _ ," Tony gasped as Bucky fit more of Tony's cock into his mouth and licked all around it. "That - that's wonderful."

Bucky pulled away and grinned up at him. "Good. I'm very glad you like it." He'd hoped it would feel nice, certainly, but it had to be worlds away better than a hand if he was getting this sort of reaction. Tony smelled of sweat and oranges, and Bucky found himself wondering what Tony would be like once he was in heat. 

He continued licking and sucking at Tony for a few minutes more, but he stopped before too long had passed. Tony was disappointed, but Bucky shushed him with a quick kiss and found the little bottle of oil he'd been promised would be waiting in a drawer beside the bed. He sat near Tony's feet after he'd retrieved it and showed it to him. 

"This oil will make everything a lot easier since you aren't in heat," he said. "I promise you, Tony, I will go as slowly as you need for me to go, and I will make sure it doesn't hurt. Do you still want to try?"

Tony considered him for a moment, a long moment, but Bucky didn't rush him. Finally, Tony nodded. Bucky pressed a kiss to the inside of Tony's knee, and Tony's belly jumped. He smiled a little and tried to remember that that was a sensitive spot for later. He poured some of the oil over his fingers and trailed one of them down behind Tony's cock to small opening hidden just behind it. Tony flinched, a little, but he didn't try to get away. Bucky found his opening and rubbed against it firmly, massaging the thin folds of skin. Tony relaxed slowly, and once he did, Bucky pressed a little of his finger inside. Tony tensed again immediately, biting down on his lip and his hands clenched in the bedclothes. Bucky didn't do anything else, just waited. Finally, Tony's body relaxed around his finger, and he pushed in a little more. 

"It doesn't hurt," Tony said quietly. 

"It isn't supposed to," Bucky said. "Might feel… odd. Or a bit uncomfortable. But it shouldn't hurt."

"Just odd," Tony said, and he unclenched his fists. Bucky smiled brightly for him. "It's not terrible." 

"It will feel better," Bucky promised. 

He worked exactly like that for a long time, a little along, until Tony had relaxed to one finger and he could move it in and out easily, and then he added a second. It didn't take quite as long for Tony to relax around the second, but when Bucky added the third, it seemed to take twice as long as the first one. Bucky didn't mind, not at all. He kept his other hand on Tony at all times, rubbing his thigh or calf or side, whispering soft praises and encouragements. He finally got all three inside and was able to work them in and out, slowly, and Tony seemed to relax all at once. When Bucky found a place inside him, Tony moaned, loudly, and Bucky grinned like he was mad. 

Finally, he withdrew his fingers and added more oil to Tony's entrance and then to his own cock. He wrapped Tony's legs around him, and he bent over Tony, kissing him softly. 

"Remember to tell me if you want me to stop," Bucky said. He gripped himself in one hand as Tony wrapped his arms around Bucky's shoulders. He guided himself to Tony's entrance, but he didn't push in until Tony relaxed after a few deep breaths. He gently slid inside Tony, and he pressed his face to Tony's neck, groaning at how hot and tight Tony felt around him. He stopped once he was fully inside Tony, not moving another inch. 

"Tony?"

"It's - a lot," Tony said softly, quietly. "But it doesn't hurt." There was a hint of awe in his voice at that, and Bucky was so incredibly proud of Tony for facing this fear and allowing Bucky to have this. Bucky kissed him again, thoroughly, and then began to move his hips in small increments. It was maddening, to go so slow when he wanted so very much more, but he was determined not to hurt Tony in the slightest. 

Finally, Tony began tugging at his hair and tightening his thighs around Bucky's hips and moving with him, creating a little push-and-pull between them. Bucky groaned softly into Tony's shoulder as he was able to move faster. Tony arched his back into it, his fingers digging into Bucky's shoulder. 

"Bucky - Bucky it feels so good," Tony panted into his ear. Bucky grinned fiercely. He snaked a hand between them and found Tony's cock and began to stroke it, as well, and Tony's soft little moans became loud, keening things. Bucky felt Tony shudder and spill over his hand, his entire body tightening and drawing Bucky in. Bucky thrust in a half a dozen or so more times, then finally stilled as he finished, his forehead pressed to the center of Tony's chest to catch his breath. 

Finally, he eased away from Tony. Tony grimaced at the sensation, and Bucky ran his hands over Tony's thighs and calves in apology. He found a washbasin and a cloth and brought them over to clean away the mess they'd made along with the sweat. That done, and the lamps all turned down, he finally climbed into bed with Tony and kissed him again, soft and sweet and lingering. 

"Thank you, Tony." 

"Thank you for - for making it feel nice," Tony said softly. "For showing me it didn't have to hurt." 

"I never want to hurt you," Bucky said again, because he didn't quite know what else to say. He kissed Tony's forehead. "Goodnight, Tony." 

"Goodnight, Bucky."


End file.
